Yesterday night, Jimmie Johnson achieved something that hasn't been done since 1982: sweep the races at Daytona. To many people's frustrations, Johnson's car seemed to have about 50 more horsepower than everyone else's. His car wasn't nearly as strong in the Daytona 500, but it was evident that they worked very hard on their race package, and it paid big dividends. With this dominating victory, one fellow nascar fan on Twitter called Jimmie Johnson the greatest of all time.
Consistency:
Throughout the 5 straight years that Jimmie Johnson won the championship, his average finish was 10.86. He also managed to record 35 victories, 81 top 5s, and 117 top 10s in 180 races. Winning over 19 percent of the races in a 5 season stretch is certainly nothing to laugh at, but Gordon's numbers may be even more impressive. From '95 to '99, Gordon's average finish was an astounding 9.44, and he was victorious 47 times. He also managed to get 104 top 5s and 119 top 10s in 161 races, giving him a win percentage of 29 percent in that 5 year stretch. Even if you take their single greatest year so far (1998 for Gordon, 2007 for Johnson) Jeff would still have the edge, recording an unbelievable 26 top 5s in 33 starts. No matter which way you slice it, Wonder Boy has the edge on this one.
Advantage: Gordon
Championships:
Jeff Gordon did manage to win the championship three times in the 5-year span we have established. He accomplished that feat in 1995, 1997 and 1998. In 1996, he finished 2nd behind teammate Terry Labonte and in 1999 he finished 6th. That is certainly very impressive, but the driver of the number 48 Chevrolet had 5 consecutive championships between 2006-2010, becoming the only driver in history to win more than 3 consecutive championships. Say what you want about how the Chase Era has affected things, but you can't argue with 5 straight championships.
Advantage: Johnson
Clutch Factor:
In order to determine a driver's clutch factor, I decided to look at their statistics for the final 10 races of each season. Within the final 10 races of 1995 to 1999, Jeff Gordon recorded 14 victories. Johnson had 13 in the final 10 races of 2006 through 2010. Both drivers have managed to win 4 of the last 10 races twice in that span: Jeff in 1996 and 1998, and Johnson in 2007 and 2009. However, in the Chase Era, clutch factor is of the utmost importance in the recipe for a championship. Therefore, one could conclude that despite winning less races than Gordon, Jimmie was the strongest down the stretch when all the points were reset. This one is pretty much a toss up, depending on how you look at it.
Advantage: Tie
Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400:
The Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 are two races that, If won, you gain immense recognition (unless you're Paul Menard). Between '95 and '99, Jeff Gordon won the Daytona 500 twice and the Brickyard 400 once. Johnson managed to win 1 Daytona 500 and 3 Brickyard 400s between '06 and '10. Although Gordon won more 500s, 5-time has the edge here.
Advantage: Johnson
Overall Winner:
Based on the fact that Jimmie Johnson has won 2 out of the 3 categories, it's natural to assume that he was better in his best 5-year run. But it's not that simple. I still find it incredible that Gordon won 12 more times than Johnson in 19 less starts. That being said, if you're simply going by wins, top 5s, and top 10s, Gordon clearly has an advantage. Obviously, Johnson has an advantage on the number of championships he's won, but many naysayers have argued that he only won because of the Chase. Then throw in the fact that in Gordon's era, the rules weren't nearly as strict as they were in Johnson's championship years. Picking a clear winner is not easy, so I'm just going to leave it up to you guys. Comment below and tell me who you think was better in their prime.
